How did a little girl with big talent get from the regional stage lights of the Maltz Jupiter Theatre to the big lights on Broadway, earning a major role as one of the orphans in the revival of the musical hit, Annie? The same way you get to Carnegie Hall — practice, practice, practice — and study with the husband-and-wife team of Jason and Jackie Bayne Gillman and Greg … [Read more...]
Postcard From Broadway No. 7: ‘Aladdin’ and ‘Casa Valentina’
Twenty years ago, the movie dynamo Disney Studios tried its hand at a Broadway musical with Beauty and the Beast, a stage clone of its Oscar-winning animated film. The show was rudimentary at best, not much more than a theme park diversion, but audiences ate it up and the show ran for 13 years. Since then, Disney has been a major producer of theater product, ranging from such … [Read more...]
‘War Horse’ remains magical, stunning theater
Broadway has long featured the creative use of puppets. Think Avenue Q, Disney’s The Lion King and even the revival of Little Shop of Horrors. But they all pale in comparison to the five-time Tony Award-winning War Horse and its expressive, full-sized equine puppets, which come to life in a stunning theatrical adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s popular children’s book. The … [Read more...]
Chamber fest opens first week of 21st season in high spirits
The Palm Beach Chamber Music Festival entered its third decade Friday night in West Palm Beach in the arms of a warm, supportive audience that gave all of its work lengthy applause, and laughed forcefully at the jokes its performers offered in oral program notes before each piece. A good time at Palm Beach Atlantic University’s Persson Hall was certainly had by all, but … [Read more...]
Music roundup: Weiss offers rare, worthy toccatas; Zukerman leads splendid RPO
It isn’t every pianist who’s going to encore with a Keith Jarrett improv from the early 1980s, but Orion Weiss has the kind of omnivorous approach to music that makes such things possible, and enjoyable to boot. In his recital appearance Wednesday afternoon at the Duncan Theatre’s Stage West, the 30-year-old pianist from suburban Cleveland gave his appreciative audience not … [Read more...]
Weekend arts picks: Oct. 1-3
Film: I am no fan of vampire movies, particularly the Twilight series, with its two-dimensional, catatonic acting. But two years ago, a subdued, suspenseful Swedish film, Let the Right One In, put a new twist on the undead genre with its tale of a 12-year-old boy who is befriended by a seemingly young vampire who moves into his neighborhood. Now comes Matt Reeves’ (Cloverfield) … [Read more...]
‘Cannibal’ provides silly, gory fun at Promethean
The opening announcement at The Promethean Theatre is a sprightly caution that the following show will contain “blood, puke and pus.” Eeew. Well, they didn’t need to warn us about the blood: The back wall of the stage is already splattered with the stuff before we even enter the Wild West world of the black-box playing space at Nova Southeastern University. Still, the … [Read more...]